Help, I wanna hike (and bike and run) again! I can hear you girl. So, let’s talk about Pelvic Organ Prolapse today. What it is, the symptoms that you may be experiencing if you’re having some pelvic floor concerns and you’re not quite sure you could be possibly experiencing a prolapse… And then what can be done about your issues – either by putting to use our simple tip or by asking your PT for help.
What is Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP)?
We talk about Pelvic Organ Prolapse when pelvic organs such as the bladder, the uterus, the rectum (or a combination of all three) which are usually supported by the pelvic floor muscles start to descend down into the pelvic outlet.
What are the common symptoms of Pelvic Organ Prolapse?
Some of the symptoms that you may be experiencing with a pelvic organ prolapse are feelings of pressure in the vaginal area. Some women report it feels like ‘things are about to fall out or slip out’ when they’re exercising, or when they’re up and about most of the time (walking, standing, maybe lifting things).
Movements like this can increase pressure on the abdomen which could cause those organs to have a little more pressure on them.
Another symptom is backache in the lower back and also leaking. Leaking of either the bowel or the bladder. On the other hand, some moms report just changes in bowel function like having constipation.
Pain with sex or not having the same pre-baby experience during intercourse (something simply feels ‘off’) is also a fairly common concern of moms that come to us.
How do we check for Pelvic Organ Prolapse?
We usually start with an external assessment: First of all, we check the posture of mom’s body because we want to make sure that her pelvis is aligned with her ribcage. Very often moms who come to us are ‘spilling forward’ I call it. Their pelvis and ribcage, not being in line, ’cause a lot of downward pressure on the pelvis. We start with a standing assessment and some mobility assessments. We’re looking for how well the client moves and breaths.
Depending on where moms are at we move onto the internal pelvic floor assessment. But we’d like to build up a little bit of a report with our patients, so this assessment usually doesn’t happen during our very first session. The pelvic floor assessment is usually done lying down or standing up.
Watch my video below to learn the details how the pelvic floor assessment is usually carried out at Healing Spot PT:
What is the treatment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse?
One of the things that we absolutely start with is bringing alignment back as many women are ‘spilling forward’. (You can check this quickly when you’re standing in front of the mirror. Just look at yourself on the side in a mirror or even just kind of feel into your body, when you’re standing and see if you are actually tilted forward. If you’re rather sitting you need to be really sitting on your sitting bones evenly and not being slumped back, but also not leaning too far forward.)
If the mom is tilted forward we need to bring the pelvis back underneath her and get her ribcage to stack on top of that. This is one of the first things that we start with, and then we’ll start with breathwork.
Sometimes after childbirth, we need to release the client’s ribcage, her hips, and pelvis in order to let things stack on top. This is our first task to do as therapists. And this takes a lot of time and some really good manual work from the therapist to release those areas. Then we build exercise on top of that. But rarely do we just start with exercise.
The last step is teaching moms the right exercises and about pressure management in the pelvic area.
Ready to take these 3 Small Steps to start healing your Pelvic Organ Prolapse today?
Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with Pelvic Organ Prolapse, but you just feel that something is ‘off’ or simply ‘not right’ you can take these 3 small steps to start healing and feeling better:
- You can download our FREE Ultimate Postpartum Guide to find out more information about Pelvic Organ Prolapse here
- Watch our one minute video to learn and put into action one simple step to start healing
- If you have questions or want more information, send us a private message or go to our website at www.healingspotpt.com and request a free 30-min Discovery Session to talk in-person or on the phone with our Birth Healing Specialist.
At Healing Spot PT we help moms who want to:
- hike while babywearing,
- run, do yoga, bike and climb,
- return to exercise SAFELY and CONFIDENTLY without worrying they’ll make things worse or ‘do it wrong’,
- care for their children and themselves,
- feel sexy and actually even enjoy sex again,
- and feel confident and strong when doing chores at home, when coughing or laughing, and just overall getting back to LIVING their lives!
We help moms like you ALL. DAY. LONG. So they can feel great and be active again! 🙂
